Photographers Richard Hammer, Dan Dombek, and Jim Dombek will exhibit selected works in the Anna & Harlan Hubbard Gallery in the Frankfort Community Public Library during August. Their exhibit, “Wild Places,” will showcase colorful landscapes as well as wildlife and macro photography. The public is invited to a reception with the artists, hosted by the Friends of the Frankfort Library, on Saturday, August 4 from 1–3 p.m. The exhibit will be on display on the second level of the Frankfort Library August 3–30.
I’ve always loved flowers. When I was a kid, I would go into the woods, dig them up, bring them home, and plant them beside our house — Tiger Lilies, mostly. It was Georgia O’Keeffe who inspired me to really start paying attention to them (she has a lot to say about flowers). Starting in my teens, a camera became my preferred means of capturing their beauty. Growing up in Winona Lake, Indiana, offered plenty of opportunity to explore the surrounding woods and lakes, and close-up photography was the way to enlarge these little blossoms so everyone could see their delicate brilliance. – Dan Dombek
Daniel currently lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and works as a graphic artist for a local marketing company. As an Indiana Master Naturalist, he spends much of his free time volunteering for Little River Wetlands Project in Fort Wayne.
Jim Dombek’s consuming, life-long interest in the natural world has been the motivation behind his photography, since he took up the hobby as a teenager. In addition, his “painterly” approach to the medium shows the influence of his artistic background. Jim, a life-long resident of Winona Lake, IN, has worked almost 40 years in construction as a carpenter, but intends to give nature photography much fuller attention after his retirement.
Through my interest and involvement in photography I have discovered a very fulfilling means of expressing myself artistically. But more importantly, photography is the permission I give myself to explore the stunning extravagance of the Creator’s handiwork, seeking out those places and experiencing those moments so filled with wonder that the most profoundly articulate word I can utter is, “WOW!” And, in the end, if one of my images is able to communicate even a hint of the awe I experienced while capturing it, I believe I have succeeded as a photographer.